Gay couples will be allowed to marry under Coalition plan

Gay couples will be able to marry for the first time under a radical plan to
overhaul marriage laws, the Coalition has announced.

Ministers are preparing to scrap the centuries-old legal definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman to promote equal rights for homosexual couples.

If introduced, the reform would give Britain some of the most advanced gay equality laws in the world.

The proposal comes as the government confirms that it will change the law to allow same-sex civil partnership ceremonies to be held in churches, synagogues and other religious settings for the first time.

The first religious services for civil partners could take place later this year.

Campaigners for equal rights for homosexuals welcomed the reforms but the Church of England warned it would not bless same sex couples.

The Liberal Democrat Minister for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone, said: “Over the past few months I’ve spoken to a lot of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB and T) people and campaign groups, and it quickly became clear that there is a real desire to address the differences between civil marriage and civil partnerships.

“I’m delighted to announce that we are going to be the first British government to formally look at what steps can be taken to address this.”

A consultation on extending the definition of marriage to include gay couples – as well as opening up civil partnerships to heterosexuals - is expected to be launched later this year.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, stressed that no religious group would be forced to host a civil partnership ceremony against its will.

Civil partnerships were introduced under Labour to give people in same-sex relationships equal legal rights to married couples.

However, campaigners including the human rights activist, Peter Tatchell, argued that civil partnerships were seen as inferior to marriage.

Liberal Jewish groups, Quakers and other Christian organisations have lobbied ministers for the right to host civil partnerships with religious readings and hymns.

New laws granting them the right to do so are expected to be detailed in April, with the first religious civil partnership ceremonies taking place by the end of this year.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the gay rights group Stonewall, welcomed the reforms. “There are still gay people who do feel that their relationship is not as valid and sustained as that of straight people,” he said. “One of the parties that has been responsible for making them feel that is the Church of England, which has mistakenly seen the issue of fair treatment for gay people as symbolic of wider secularisation and a contributor to the long term decline of organised religion.”

However, a spokesman for the Church of England said bishops were “clear” that the Church “should not provide services of blessing for those who register civil partnerships”.

The plans “could also lead to inconsistencies with civil marriage, have unexplored impacts, and lead to confusion, with a number of difficult and unintended consequences for churches and faiths”.